All posts by witchyrichy@gmail.com

When Everything Is Amazing

thinking out loud,

I signed up for an online art fest that began today and features a wide variety of artists teaching workshops over the next two weeks. I pulled up a video on sketching birds. The organizer used the word amazing three times in the first minute: it was “amazing” that the presenter was from Canada; it was “amazing” that she was back for a second year; and we were “amazing” for joining them. She is not alone, in my humble opinion, in overusing amazing as an adjective.

Merriam-Webster defines amazing as “causing astonishment, great wonder, or surprise” and their example is “an amazing story of personal bravery and survival.” I am neither surprised nor astonished that a presenter was able to join us from Canada nor that she joined in for a second year. As for my presence being amazing, I did sign up for the event and received a reminder email this morning, so it’s not much of a surprise that I am watching a video.

Merriam-Webster’s thesaurus lists 140 synonyms and similar words for word amazing. I would suggest that it was wonderful to have the presenter from Canada join us for the second year. And, while not a synonym for amazing, I might have said I was grateful for the viewers who chose to tune in to the video.

The English language qualifies to be described as amazing, I think, with a depth of expression that can move us from surprising to amazing to awe-inspiring. The next time you are tempted to describe something as amazing (or awesome as I think that gets overused as well), consider using a different adjective that gets at the heart of what you are trying to say.

Or, maybe we should just accept that everything is awesome and amazing:

Virginia’s Segregationist Past Continues to the Present

Education, thinking out loud, ,

I am always surprised when fellow Virginians look confused when I mention the state’s history related to segregation, especially the massive resistance that took place after Brown vs. Board of Education was passed in 1955. I have written about this attempt to continue segregation before and spent time at the Moton Museum in Farmville, learning more about the courage of the state’s African Americans as they struggled for a quality education for their children. I would like to think that any attempt to make up for this shameful past would be lauded, that is not the case, even in 2025.

Please take time to read J.W. Caterine’s substack post about the failed attempt to rename James Blair Middle School, located in James City County, Virginia, that took place this year. It is a reminder that many Virginians, including those in power, care little for making up for the past.

Digging In, Literally & Figuratively

Artificial Intelligence, design, gardening, politics, thinking out loud, ,

I am a gardener, primarily flowers but also some vegetables. I have somewhat extensive gardens that, in April, demand a lot of attention as they emerge from their winter slumber. I spend several days cleaning up, renewing my war on wire grass and duckweed. I unwrap the hydrangeas from their burlap coats and examine them to see if this year they might bloom. There are perennials to be divided and relocated, lily and gladiola bulbs to be planted, and lots of seeds from zinnias to hyacinth bean vine to wildflower mixes to be spread far and wide.

Spring Garden

This year, I scaled back the vegetables to onions, garlic, San Marzano tomatoes, sweet peppers and jalapenos. My herbs are scattered amongst the flowers, often in pots, and include parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (sorry for the ear worm!) along with oregano, basil, chives, and chamomile. I had great success with ginger last year. The rhizomes came from a Giant in Northern Virginia where I often stop for a break. I bought them at the same store last year and ended up with 4 pounds or so of ginger. Hoping to have the same luck this year, but I know there is really nothing about gardening that can be considered a sure thing. I am optimistic, however, as they had solid knobs indicating they hadn’t been treated to stop growth.

So, that is both the literal digging in as well as my excuse for not following up after my semi-optimistic meeting. I have been outside. Or visiting my elderly parents in Pennsylvania. Or walking the new dog. Or finishing up the spring semester when I taught three classes. April was busy.

But, this morning, I dug in figuratively. I have been spending quality time with ChatGPT and have found it helpful in doing research. I specifically want to create flyers that I can post in my local post offices as that is where we all get our information. I focused on Medicaid as my county has one of the higher rates in Virginia, at 23.2%. I was able to tweak the message for my audience and then used a Canva template to create the final product. I have a couple copies printed and will get them posted. If you would like access to my template, message me privately and I will send it along. I am now working on focused on the more affluent population, largely retirees, across the James River in Williamsburg and James City County. Stay tuned.

Feeling A Little Less Helpless

advocacy, politics, thinking out loud, ,

I met with the Jameson Babb, Chief of Staff for Senator Lashrecse Aird, my Virginia state Senator. I reached out to ask what, besides making phone calls or sending postcards, I might do to feel a little less helpless. I also had a couple ideas I wanted to share with him to see if they would be worth the time and energy.

It was one of the best meetings I have had for a long time. I had an informal agenda, and we covered most of my topics plus a lot more ground in 30 minutes. I left with immediate ideas for where to begin, including starting a women’s group ala The Liberal Women of Chesterfield, who were the powerhouse behind getting Abigail Spanberger, current candidate for Virginia governor, elected in the first place. Their mission statement is fiercely progressive:

LWCC strives to be a safe haven for liberal women and their allies to support, educate, and encourage one another to be actively involved in our government; and, furthermore, seeks to advance advocacy issues and
campaigns that align with our progressive values of inclusivity and equal rights for all people.

As I read it, I was reminded of an episode from Season 3 of The West Wing, when President Bartlett is running for his second term. Bruno Gianelli, the high paid consultant played powerfully by Ron Silver, designs ads that skirt campaign finance laws (this was 2001 so before Citizens United basically gutted them completely). Sam Seaborn pushes back because he thinks they should have a higher standard, the “we go high” philosophy of more contemporary times, and Bruno makes an impassioned speech about not apologizing for being liberal and progressive and believing that government can do good things for its people to improve their lives:

If you are interested in some of the other ideas that came out of my meeting and possibly connecting with other women, get in touch.

Meanwhile, I feel a little less helpless and a little more empowered. If you have a “friendly” state representative, I encourage you to reach out to them.

Improvising

art, books, creativity, thinking out loud

I signed on for the #100DayProject again this year, paying a small subscription fee to be part of the Substack. I posted a couple notes there but I only have so much time and energy for writing and sharing so will focus on this blog.

The #100DayProject is sponsored each year by Lindsay Jean Thompson. The goal of the project is spend 100 days working on a creative project. I started with a plan for combining poetry and gel printing. I followed through on that plan for 10 days or so and was pleased with the results. But, I had subscribed to a monthly quilt box and the second box was on the way while the first box sat explored but unused on the shelf.

My time is flexible and mostly my own, but I didn’t have time for both printing and quilting so moved on to the latter. My #100DayProject turned to quilting for a couple weeks. My subscription comes from Mrs. Quilty and is meant for beginners. Each box includes a quilt block in a different pattern and then several utilitarian projects that demonstrate different skills. Fabric in matching designs, often from the same designer, is included; each box also provides a couple quilting tools. You are building your toolkit and fabric stash as you learn. The video tutorials are detailed and easy to follow. I am very pleased. This is an uncompensated review.

As I have shared before, I am part of Ali Manning’s Handmade Book Club. She highlights a different book style each month, and my goal this year was to make each one during the month it was featured, thus ending the year with 12 handmade books. I have completed January and February but March’s coptic stitch binding was more challenging as it included fabric covers and multiple signatures sewn in one at a time. So, I moved on to bookbinding for my #100DayProject. I made a few small, single signature books with gel printed covers and two Valen-zines from gel prints. They got their own folder as well.

All this to say that I have moved the focus of my project to a bit wider lens of having fun and doing something creative in one of my areas of interest every day. Easter is fast approaching and I need to start making cards.

I am dropping photos of all the various prints and quilts and books in a Flickr album if you want to see what I have been up to since February 23:

Stopping By Woods